Driver dies in fiery crash

November 21, 2012

INWOOD -Police said they are awaiting the results of forensic tests before confirming the identity of a driver who died in a fiery crash Tuesday on Interstate 81 as an apparent result of driving the wrong way on the highway near Inwood.

The two-vehicle accident occurred at 2:14 a.m. on I-81 North near Exit 5, police said.

"We're waiting for official word. We feel like we know who it is, but before we release it we have to be sure. That's kind of where we are, awaiting positive identification," Berkeley County Sheriff Kenneth "Kenny" Lemaster Jr. said Tuesday.

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Submitted photoA two-vehicle accident occurred at 2:14 a.m. on I-81 North near Exit 5. Both vehicles were engulfed in flames when officers arrived on the scene.

The accident involved a tractor-trailer and a 2005 Ford Explorer sports utility vehicle, according to a press release issued by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department.

A preliminary investigation and statements from witnesses at the scene suggest the driver of the Explorer was traveling southbound in the northbound left lane of I-81 when the SUV collided with the tractor-trailer, the release said.

Both vehicles were engulfed in flames when officers arrived on the scene. The driver and passenger of the tractor-trailer were able to exit their vehicle. The driver of the Explorer was trapped inside the SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lemaster said it's not clear yet why the driver of the SUV was traveling the wrong way on the highway.

"Not until we have some forensic information and things like that," Lemaster said.

He said the driver's remains would be sent to the West Virginia Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. Northbound lanes of I-81 remained shut down for more than six hours after the accident, Lemaster said.

The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department is asking anyone who witnessed the accident or who has information on the crash to contact Deputy P.D. Ware at 304-267-7000, or the Berkeley County Crime Solvers at 304-267-4999.